


If x(y)=n…

by Salmon_I



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Friendship, Gen, Late Night Conversations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26518648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salmon_I/pseuds/Salmon_I
Summary: Liz grinned at him when he entered the room, so apparently she had not reached the upchucking portion of her drunken night yet.  She was on the floors though, nursing a bottle still. So they could still get there. "Mikey." She greeted."Ortecho." He stopped in front of her. "You do know there's only room for one alcoholic genius in our friend's group, right?"Liz wrinkled her nose, seeming to contemplate the idea.  She grinned again, apparently having found a satisfactory answer.  "Well, then, I claim the spot. So you have to be the sober genius from here on out."
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	If x(y)=n…

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "You don't have to stay."  
> Science Bros. Set post s2 in a nebulous s3

Michael had never hesitated to enter the Wild Pony before, but he hadn't been expecting this phone call. Had debated about calling pretty much everyone in his phone directory multiple times, before finally getting in his truck and driving over.

Maria frowned at him when he finally entered. "She's in the back. I told her she could stay at my place, but she said to call you."

The other patrons were gone, as was the staff. She was clearly finishing her own tasks for the night. Michael could only shrug - he didn't have an explanation for that.

"I didn't know Liz and you were close." She added after a moment.

"We bonded over her jailbird experience." He quipped.

They'd actually bonded over science when Isobel was in the pod, and again while trying to save Max. But since most of their group tended to forget Michael was a genius unless he was jamming it down their throats, it wasn't worth trying to explain. Most of the group, except Liz, he corrected. Who, for reasons he still couldn't explain, had kept in increasing contact with him after she'd left Roswell last year.

Somehow, instead of her new co-workers, Liz was dialing his number at 2am to complain about setbacks in her research. It had taken weeks of accepting her phone calls before he was calling back to bitch about his calculations not showing the results he wanted in his continued attempts to unlock the secrets of their homeworld technology. Both their phones set to speaker as she bustled around some brightly lit medical facility and he moved around his bunker or the junkyard - talking at odd hours of the day or night.

Liz grinned at him when he entered the room, so apparently she had not reached the upchucking portion of her drunken night yet. She was on the floors though, nursing a bottle still. So they could still get there. "Mikey." She greeted.

"Ortecho." He stopped in front of her. "You do know there's only room for one alcoholic genius in our friend's group, right?"

Liz wrinkled her nose, seeming to contemplate the idea. She grinned again, apparently having found a satisfactory answer. "Well, then, I claim the spot. So you have to be the sober genius from here on out."

Michael sighed, and held out his hand. "Up we go. Let's get you back home."

"Don't wanna go home." Liz informed him.

"Why?"

"Don't want Rosa to see me all-" She waved her hand to indicate her inebriated state.

Michael considered telling her that she should have thought of that sooner, before deciding he really didn't have the right to be lecturing anyone about their life decisions. "Okay, so do you know where you want to go?"

Liz seemed to consider that for a moment. "The Pod Caves."

Michael stared at her for a long moment, trying to decide if he'd heard her right. "The Pod Caves?"

Liz chose that moment to grab his hand and raise herself unsteadily to her feet. "I wanna go to the Pod Caves."

"Okay, I'll take you there."

* * *

Liz wouldn't leave the bottle, insisting she had paid for it. Michael decided if she hadn't, she could work it out with Maria later. The drive to the abandoned mine would probably have helped sober her if she hadn't been continuing to drink from it the whole trip. He'd thought to stop at the gas station for bottled water and aspirin, seeing as there would be none at the cave and acetone wasn't going to help her hangover like it would his.

When he parked, she got out by herself - stumbling up toward the mine but not entering. "Max kissed me here." She announced.

"That's knowledge I could have lived without, Ortecho."

"Two years ago today. Well, yesterday." Liz continued, not bothered by his sarcasm.

Michael froze, but sighed. Well, that kind of explained the situation. But if Liz was still hooked on Max, then why weren't they together? Instead of making everyone miserable by moping separately? He grimaced at the thought. Hi Pot, Meet Kettle.

"I'm still soooo mad at him." Liz continued unprompted. "But I also miss him. I miss him lots."

Yeah, this was hitting close. Not as much for the present day, but for ten years prior that statement could have been his own words. Because he had been mad at Alex for his part of their messy equation. But he'd also spent every day missing him. "I get that." He finally offered.

"We are the smartest people in our group." Liz continued, apparently taking that as permission to continue. "But we are also a couple of dumb fucks when it comes to relationships. We suck at them."

"C'mon, let's get inside." He'd noticed her starting to sway and had a feeling she would pass out soon. He reached out a hand, planning on guiding her to the destination, but apparently Liz took the gesture differently, and she threw her arms around him in a hug, sniffling into his shoulder. He hugged her back, awkwardly at first - taken by surprise - but more firmly as she continued to hold on.

"Not fair. Relationships should be like… like science. X and y cause z reaction and only alter if n is introduced."

"Yeah, definitely doesn't work that way."

When she drew back, he led her gently toward the mine, using his powers to help her keep her footing the few times she stumbled. "I want to be with Max, but I'm not sure if we're good for each other."

Michael wondered if he should be keeping a checklist of ways this conversation referenced his own issues with Alex. "Maybe we're looking at it wrong."

"What do you mean?" There were blankets in the cave, and she didn't hesitate to wrap herself up in one before sitting down in front of the pods.

Michael grabbed his own blanket and joined her. "Maybe we're thinking about relationships like they should be n, when they're really… finding all the equations where y and x equal n."

Liz frowned. "So we're looking for a completed experiment. When relationships are actually research and development."

"I mean we never give up on our research." Michael pointed out.

"Just our relationships." Liz filled in the blank. "It kinda makes sense. In a weird way that I'd never talk to about anyone else but you."

Michael couldn't help but laugh, and Liz joined him. By the end, they were leaning against each other, still occasionally falling into bouts of snickering.

"I think I'm going to throw up." Liz informed him suddenly.

"Yeah, I figured." He'd brought the water into the mine with them, and he floated one of the bottles over.

"You don't have to stay."

"I know, but I will."


End file.
